Anji (Ryūkyū)

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An anji, aji, or azu (按司, ^?) was a ruler of a petty kingdom in the history of the Ryukyu Islands. The word later became a title and rank of nobility in the Ryūkyū Kingdom. It is said to be related to the Japanese aruji ("master"), and the pronunciation varied throughout the islands. It ranked next below a prince among nobility. The sons of princes and the eldest sons of anji became anji. An anji established a noble family equivalent to a miyake of Japan.

The anji arose around the twelfth century as local leaders began to build gusuku (castles in the Ryūkyū style). Shō Hashi was an anji who later unified the Ryūkyūs as king. The title anji variously designated sons of the king and regional leaders. During the Second Shō Kingdom, when the anji settled near Shuri Castle, the word came to denote an aristocrat in the castle town.

A pattern for addressing a male anji began with the place he ruled and ended with the word anji, for example, "Nago Anji." For women, the suffix kanashi (加那志) followed: "Nago Anji Kanashi."